What actually breaks a resume in an ATS, ranked by what it costs
Our free checker publishes all 21 of its checks and the exact points each one can take. Here is that list read as a priority order, heaviest failure first.
The two resume files that score zero before anyone reads them
A password protected file and a file with no text layer are the only two findings in our checker that can take 35 points each. Both look fine to you and are total to a parser.
Two column resumes: when the layout is a real risk and when it is not
A multi column layout is a 10 point finding in our checker, not a disqualification. Here is what actually goes wrong, and how to tell whether yours is affected.
Where your email silently vanishes: contact details in the header
Word headers and footers sit outside the document body, and a well known class of parser never reads them. It is a 6 point finding, and what it costs you is a reply.
Tables and text boxes, and what a parser does with them
Each is an 8 point finding in our checker. Tables get flattened into the wrong reading order, and text boxes float outside the document body where some parsers never look.
Junk characters and decorative bullets, and why they glue to your words
Unreadable characters are an 8 point finding and decorative bullet glyphs are 3. Both come from the same cause: a symbol the parser has no letter for.
Numbers in your bullets: the heaviest single evidence check there is
Quantification is a 15 point check, the largest outside the two parse failures. A bullet without a number is a claim, and with one it is evidence.